Non-traditional reproductive health resources reach at-risk youth

March 21, 2012 By Glenda Fauntleroy in Health

Non-traditional reproductive health resources reach at-risk youth

Enlarge

Many youth at risk for unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and HIV do not seek preventive health care services at traditional health clinics. A new research review finds that if reproductive health services were more easily accessible, youth would be more likely to use them.

The emotional and reproductive changes that come with adolescence also come with increased . Every year, about 16 million girls aged 15 to 19 give birth, and 40 percent of all new HIV infections in 2009 were among youth between the ages of 15 and 24, according to the .

Lead author Donna Denno, M.D. said the new review, which appears in the , provided an opportunity to learn about strategies used in many different countries to combat these risks.

“This is especially critical since U.S. suffer from substantially higher pregnancy rates, for example, compared to most other developed countries, even when rates of sexual activity are similar,” explained Denno, associate professor in the departments of pediatrics and global health at the University of Washington in Seattle.

The reviewers evaluated 20 international studies of adolescents and young adults to determine what types of policies and programs delivered outside of traditional health facilities would increase their use of HIV or reproductive health services.

One-quarter of the studies looked at delivering emergency contraception (EC) through community-based pharmacies without a doctor’s prescription. Following this practice, there was an overall uptick in the use of EC of 17 percent in France and of more than 50 percent in British Columbia. While overall use of EC did not increase in the U.K., youth were able to obtain the pills in a more timely fashion, increasing their effectiveness.

In another study, when health workers in Louisiana distributed almost a half-million condoms to neighborhoods high in IV-drug use, those in the intervention areas were 37 percent more likely to have used condoms during their last intercourse. One study of a mail-based sexually transmitted infection screening program in the Netherlands achieved a 40 percent response rate.

Unfortunately, though, U.S. public health policies offer adolescents much less access to reproductive health services in community settings than in other parts of the world, said Heidi Jones, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College.

“Public health policies related to improving reproductive health in the United States are not made based on scientific evidence and rational thought, but rather reproductive health issues are used as pawns in the political arena to garner support for political candidates,” she said. “Amazingly, emergency contraception has been used in a similar vein, with even the FDA acting against the recommendations of its scientific advisory board.”

More information: Denno D.M., et al. 2012. Reaching youth with out-of-facility HIV and reproductive health services: a systematic review. Journal of Adolescent Health. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.01.004xx

Provided by Health Behavior News Service search and more info website

not rated yet  

Rank not rated yet
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Study focuses on new mums' sleepiness and injury risk on the road

New mothers throughout Australia are needed to help QUT sleep researchers investigate whether the disrupted sleep experienced by mothers when caring for their new baby raises the risk of injury while driving.

Health created 1 hour ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Portland, Ore., rejecting water fluoridation

(AP)—The mayor of Portland, Ore., has conceded defeat in an effort to add fluoride to the city's drinking water.

Health created 1 hour ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Life expectancy gap widens between those with mental illness and general population

The gap between life expectancy in patients with a mental illness and the general population has widened since 1985 and efforts to reduce this gap should focus on improving physical health, suggest researchers in a paper ...

Health created 14 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Failure to use linked health records may lead to biased disease estimates

Failure to use linked electronic health records may lead to biased estimates of heart attack incidence and outcome, warn researchers in a paper published in BMJ today.

Health created 14 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Dietary advice on added sugar is damaging our health, warns heart expert

Dietary advice on added sugar is damaging our health, warns a cardiologist in BMJ today. Dr. Aseem Malhotra believes that "not only has this advice been manipulated by the food industry for profit but it is actually a risk ...

Health created 14 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0


A molecular explanation for age-related fertility decline in women

(Medical Xpress)—Scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health have a new theory as to why a woman's fertility declines after her mid-30s. They also suggest an approach that might help slow ...

Medical researchers discover new ways to target, develop and design drugs to prevent and treat viral infection

Researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a new drug target, developed a new drug and identified a new way to design drugs—all of which could be a winning combination in the battle against viruses.

Beta-blockers may boost chemo effect in childhood cancer

Beta-blockers, normally used for high blood pressure, could enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapies in treating neuroblastoma, a type of children's cancer, according to a new study published in the British Jo ...

Cancer survivors need more support to stop smoking and drinking

Cancer survivors are no more likely to stop smoking, cut down on alcohol, or exercise more often than the general population, according to new research published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Wednesday)

Ethicists' behavior not more moral, study finds

(Medical Xpress)—Do ethicists engage in better moral behavior than other professors? The answer is no. Nor are they more likely than nonethicists to act according to values they espouse, according to researchers from the ...

Succesful results in developing oral vaccine against diarrhea

The University of Gothenburg Vaccine Research Institute (GUVAX) announces successful results in a placebo controlled phase I study of an oral, inactivated Escherichia coli diarrhea vaccine.